Common Medication Challenges for Kids With Epilepsy

Source: Pediatric neurology

Summary

Researchers studied the challenges that children with epilepsy face when taking their medications. They used a tool called the Barriers to Adherence Tool to gather information from patients during follow-up visits at a child neurology division. The study included responses from over 12,000 visits involving more than 5,200 pediatric patients between July 2021 and March 2025.

The study found that about 35% of the visits reported at least one barrier to taking medication. The most common issues included side effects from the medication, the medication not effectively controlling seizures, and difficulties remembering to take the medication. Other barriers included the dislike of the medication's taste, running out of medication, and having too many medications to take. Certain groups, such as Black/African American patients or those with frequent seizures, reported more barriers compared to others.

Understanding these barriers is important because they can affect how well children manage their epilepsy. By identifying these challenges, healthcare providers can work on solutions to help improve medication adherence. However, the study has limitations, such as not including all patients and focusing only on those who attended follow-up visits, which may not represent all children with epilepsy.

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